Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Doomed but a Genius, So It's Fine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the basement of the Sejong Cultural Center, marked with a "No Entry Except for Authorized Personnel" sign.
Soyi-hyun was replaying the events of that day with a puzzled expression.
After an hour, then two hours passed fruitlessly like that, her adjutant finally couldn't hold back and grumbled.
"Squad Leader, please stop already. Hasn't this incident already been concluded as infighting within the Demon Subjugation Society? It's already 11 p.m. Eleven."
"Already?"
No wonder her eyes kept feeling heavy.
"Alright. Then let's check it just one more time. First off, the bomb demon had staked itself here for the terrorist attack."
Soyi-hyun stood up from her seat and snapped her fingers.
A bluish light flashed, comprehensively compiling all the information gathered so far and recreating it like a video.
The bomb demon was on its knees, hands planted on the ground, when the mysterious adversary—nicknamed the Dagger Demon—entered and hurled a dagger.
A lightning-fast strike with no telegraphing prep.
Kwaaaang!
The sudden explosion twisted the flash, but the Dagger Demon didn't give up and threw another dagger.
This time, it seemed properly empowered; an estimated three or four daggers shot toward the bomb demon.
But success was still elusive.
A powerful explosion intent on taking them both out warped the daggers' trajectories entirely.
"This is the key point."
Soyi-hyun paused the recreation and pointed to the deep horizontal gash.
Her adjutant asked in return.
"Because of the traces of mana left on the sword mark?"
"Exactly. It's inherently impossible for a demon to use mana."
"Then... the possibility of two adversaries? For example, suppose an awakened threw the daggers, and a demon that followed handled the bomb demon..."
It was a fairly novel idea, but Soyi-hyun shook her head firmly.
"No. No matter how I look, there's only traces of one person entering. Rather..."
"Rather?"
"Better to assume it's someone who can wield both demonic energy and mana."
"Pardon?"
The adjutant blinked in disbelief, forgetting to even speak, before bursting into laughter.
"Puhahaha. Squad Leader, are you serious? That's something out of a fairy tale..."
"...You're laughing?"
"Ahem. Sorry."
As the adjutant hurriedly shut his mouth, Soyi-hyun didn't press further.
She couldn't.
Even to herself, it was an absurd theory.
Where in the world is someone who possesses both demonic energy and mana?
It was a ridiculous setup fit for some founding myth.
"But that student still hasn't contacted us? If they witnessed anything, it could be a crucial clue."
"Who?"
"Park... whatever his name is. The one who warned you about the possibility of a second terrorist attack."
"Ah, the brew clan kid..."
Soyi-hyun recalled the Taehak student with steel-blue hair and gave a faint smile.
Honestly, she owed him quite a debt.
Thanks to him, she hadn't acted rashly and had stayed true to her duties.
But she doubted he'd reply.
He didn't seem the type to pursue relationships.
"Should I go find him instead?"
If she asked Cheon Seo-yun, she could probably arrange a simple meeting.
Her thoughts reached that point, so Soyi-hyun picked up her phone.
She called Cheon Seo-yun to check if she'd returned safely as well.
Drring- drring- drring-
The customer's phone is powered off and has been forwarded to voicemail.
But it went straight to voicemail here too.
"She leaves without a goodbye and has her phone off. Is something wrong?"
* * *
At the same time.
Cheon Seo-yun was in a hazy state between dream and reality, exhausted from crying herself to sleep.
A draining weakness washed over her like her whole body was soaked in water, and as her foggy vision cleared, Cheon Seo-yun suddenly realized she was sitting in a chair.
"What is this? Wasn't I in the dorm?"
It was strange.
Very strange.
Just moments ago, it had been complete darkness.
Too vivid for a dream, too absurd for reality.
Cheon Seo-yun quickly scanned her surroundings.
A completely different scene by 180 degrees came into view.
But what was this?
"Ugh."
In that instant, Cheon Seo-yun let out a short scream and contorted her face.
She felt a chill down her spine and rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
"No, what..."
It couldn't be helped.
...Everything around her was pink, pink, pink.
This wasn't even a pink demon's room.
The bed straight ahead, the lace canopy draping it, the rug beneath, the drawers and desk on top.
Even the clock on the wall.
Not a single thing wasn't pink; it was dizzying.
"Damn it."
Cheon Seo-yun recoiled in horror.
It wasn't an overreaction.
Pink was a color she almost pathologically hated, to the point of nausea just looking at it normally.
Dream or whatever, her priority was to escape.
Cheon Seo-yun looked around frantically for an exit door.
But then.
"......"
Her hurried steps halted right there.
A full-length mirror placed in one corner of the room.
Inside it stood a girl who looked oddly familiar, eyes wide round, body hesitating.
What is this...
Cheon Seo-yun stared blankly, forgetting she'd even put on a pink dress.
She took one step, then another toward the mirror and placed her hand on it.
The girl's hand in the mirror rose in tandem.
Mumbling at her lips, Cheon Seo-yun whispered powerlessly.
"...It's me."
It was.
The girl was Cheon Seo-yun from childhood, a fragmented memory faded by time.
Perhaps that's why.
Cheon Seo-yun soon realized the nature of this bizarre space.
"My family home."
It was the room of little princess Cheon Seo-yun from her dreams, the site where she lost someone precious that day...
The scene of the incident. That pink secret nest stained with blood everywhere.
Realizing why she particularly hated this flashy, warm color palette, Cheon Seo-yun shuddered.
Then she collapsed limply.
...Why on earth had she come here?
No, more than that, why was she a child again?
"I definitely enrolled in Taehak... and today of all days..."
As Cheon Seo-yun retraced her especially grueling day, a sudden sharp headache warped her mind.
"Ugh."
And then the reversal began.
"...So... I... definitely..."
Dream becoming reality, reality becoming dream.
"...Ah, no? Wait... it's not like some drama."
Why did Uncle kill Dad...
Cheon Seo-yun soon nodded, convincing herself.
Then...
Cheon Seo-yun held her breath in momentary anticipation, then exhaled until nothing remained inside.
"Thank goodness. Truly..."
All those days had been nothing but a single night's dream.
Cheon Seo-yun set down the heavy burdens she'd carried.
And she smiled.
The girl in the mirror smiled back.
It was in that moment, as they smiled at each other.
Knock knock knock.
The tidy knock on a door she hadn't even noticed opened.
Light seeped through the gap, and a figure followed it inside.
That face she'd always longed for, yet was fading from memory...
Did it even need explaining how much she'd wanted to see it?
"......"
Cheon Seo-yun's eyes reddened.
She gripped her own arm hard enough to crush it, and feeling the pain, she ran toward him joyfully.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms quickly, tell him she'd had a long dream and it was so hard.
So please hold her.
But then.
Kwarrrrr.
A scorching heat like flesh searing assaulted her.
Crimson-black flames erupted in an instant, devouring the space.
She, and even the one she'd finally met, turned to ash, crumbling and scattering as if they'd never existed.
"Ah."
Cheon Seo-yun desperately swung her remaining flailing arm to grasp at anything.
But there was nothing to grab.
.
.
Finally, as exhaustion overtook her and she collapsed, her eyes snapped open.
"......"
What she faced was the complete darkness of Taehak's dorm.
The damp, icy pillow texture suddenly grounded her in reality.
A nightmare so vicious it was cruel even for a dream.
...But was reality any different?
Panting, Cheon Seo-yun soon turned over indifferently and lay down.
Whether dream or reality, she'd lost her goal either way.
* * *
In the original story, Radeon was called the Demon of Will.
Because he wielded his sword as if infusing it with will, freely manipulating it.
For that reason, Demon of Ego Swordsmanship, Demon of Sword Dance, Demon of Empty Hands, and so on.
I remember various such modifiers.
But...
It's all a scam.
His true trait was none other than dexterity.
The ability to skillfully handle anything in his hands.
At first glance, a trait somewhat distant from combat, but the ever-thirsting-for-power Radeon pondered and fused Thousand Silken Threads with Flying Blade Arts.
Afterward, reborn as a powerful demon who even held the advantage against a Rank 4 Awakener.
He flew across the battlefield wielding up to 15 flying blades like limbs.
Not figuratively—he literally flew.
"He even used the Thousand Silken Threads as propulsion."
Like that movie spider-man zipping through New York's skyscrapers.
Anyway, the combat style I pursue is no different.
Freely dominating the battlefield, drawing one sword or two. Further, unleashing sorcery barrages from mid-air...
['Greed' says a demon's trait is unique, so you can't imitate it.]
Whoa, startled.
I flinched at the sudden message.
The guy who ignored anything not edible seemed to perk up at the word "demon."
I nodded and replied.
"True. But I don't need it. I already have something better."
['Greed' tilts its head.]
[It says the master has no such trait.]
Really?
Better to show than tell, so I pulled out the bundle of Thousand Silken Threads.
Lining them up one by one: about 1 meter long, total 20 strands.
I only needed one, so I set the rest aside.
"Watch closely with eyes wide open."
I calmly took a deep breath and activated Manifestation.
Soon, shimmering manifestation particles.
Instead of visualizing something, I reached out with my hand first.
Grabbing a handful of manifestation particles—like dipping in dye?
I directed them experimentally toward the Thousand Silken Thread I held.
The sparkling light particles responded to my will.
They clung like seeping in, and as a result, the paper-thin thread emitted a faint glow like a trail of light.
Preparation complete.
Now to move the manifestation particles and wield the thread.
Just like Radeon wielded flying blades with his threads...
As expected from my hard-thought solution, performance would naturally favor mine.
Controlling with mind over hand would be far more precise.
['Greed' slaps its knee— and stands up.]
I chuckled and focused.
Wishing the Thousand Silken Thread to coil around the Nameless Shaman's Bracelet, I infused a tiny amount of mana.
Ssslruk.
And it actually moved.
The thread rose on its own and began wrapping around the bracelet.
"Oh."
First mission: success.
Executing the command without error, and the reaction speed practically simultaneous with thought—very satisfying.
"Next..."
Time to test a more complex function.
First, I generated a straw dummy 5 meters ahead, then recalled a movie scene.
The thread extending from my hand wrapping the dummy, then contracting to pull me forward in one burst... something like that for propulsion.
This was nearly simultaneous too.
Whirlic—
The thread shot like a beam of light, tightly binding the dummy.
The instant it contracted, my body lifted before I could even register, yanked there like strapped to an arrow.
But maybe the speed exceeded expectations?
'Uh?' And I collided right into it.
Kwajik.
I clutched my face and rolled on the floor.
"Argh, damn."
It hurt.
Really hurt.
The unguarded impact amplified the shock.
Heh heh.
But that lasted only a moment. Soon, laughter bubbled up separate from the pain.
Sure, this pathetic body was one thing.
But the harmony of Thousand Silken Threads and Manifestation was flawless without a scratch.
['Greed' shakes its head side to side and enters sleep mode.]
I giggled, then abruptly stood.
As a die-hard hero movie fan, another scene came to mind.